Pernod Ricard sells global wine division to Accolade owners
Some of Australia’s most famous wine brands, including Jacob’s Creek, will change hands as part of a global deal between two of the world’s largest producers.
Some of Australia’s most famous wine brands, including Barossa Valley’s Jacob’s Creek, will change hands as part of a global deal between two of the world’s largest producers.
French drinks giant Pernod Ricard has agreed to sell its global wine division to the owners of Accolade Wines, including its Australian labels Jacob’s Creek, St Hugo, Orlando and George Wyndham.
Australian Wine Holdco Limited (AWL), the consortium of international institutional investors that took over Accolade Wines earlier this year, will also take on Pernod Ricard’s wine brands in New Zealand and Spain.
The deal consolidates AWL’s position as one of Australia’s largest wine groups alongside rival Treasury Wine Estates, and adds to its Accolade portfolio which includes Hardys, Grant Burge, Banrock Station, St Hallett and Petaluma.
AWL will take on seven wineries as part of the deal, producing more than 10 million cases of wine annually.
Regulatory approvals, including clearances from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, will be required before the deal is finalised.
Bryan Fry, chief executive of Pernod Ricard’s wine business, said the sale would enable the company to focus on its spirits and champagne brands, which include Absolut vodka, Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, Havana Club rum, Beefeater gin and Malibu liqueur.
“The agreement with Australian Wine Holdco Limited (AWL) is a positive step forward and will give our wine brands the focus they need to become stronger, more competitive, and better positioned to seize new opportunities globally,” he said.
“We look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead and remain dedicated to delivering outstanding and award-winning wine brands.”
Pernod Ricard was one of the earliest foreign investors in Australia’s wine industry when it snapped up Jacob’s Creek and Orlando Wines in 1989.
However as one of the biggest selling Australian wines into China, Jacob’s Creek was hit hard by the three years of Chinese tariffs that were finally removed in March following a breakthrough in trade negotiations.
Accolade does not have a large export business to China, but its lower-priced commercial wines have been struggling amid an oversupply of grapes across the industry.
The company had previously been in merger discussions with Australian Vintage, the struggling owner of wine brands McGuigan, Tempus Two and Nepenthe.
AWL, backed by private equity firm Bain Capital and a group of international investors, said the acquisition would “create a more efficient and more diversified global wine business”.
“Combining Accolade Wines with the Pernod Ricard assets will create a more certain and financially sustainable future for the business, allowing us to better serve our customers, in more segments and more geographies,” AWL spokesman Joshua Hartz said.
“Backed by AWL, the combined business will be better able to adapt to changing consumer tastes and meet the structural challenges facing the global wine industry.”
A transaction price was not disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2025 following regulatory approvals.
Other brands forming part of the transaction include New Zealand’s Stoneleigh, Brancott Estate and Church Road, and Campo Viejo, Ysios, Tarsus and Azpilicueta from Spain.
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